Tractor stops running after 5 minutes

matdan2

New User
Hello I need some trouble shooting advice for a problem with my TO 35 gas tractor.
The engine starts and runs for about 5 minutes then stops and I can see fuel seeping out of the carb.My fuel flow from the tank seems good and the air cleaner is OK.I removed the carb and opened it up to check the float to see if it was leaking or hung up but all seems to be OK.Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks Dan
 
Fuel seeping out of the carb means the needle is not able to seat correctly and shut off the flow of fuel when the float is in the up position. Could be some dirt in the seat, a worn needle, a mal-adjusted float, a float with a hole in it filling up with gas and not able to float high enough to turn the fuel off.
 
When it dies after the 5 minutes, what symptoms do you see? Black smoke? Backfire? White smoke?

Do you see fuel drip immediately as it is dieing? Or does it drip after you try to restart?

Will it continue to drip indefinitely when sitting with the fuel valve open?

If it continues to drip as long as the fuel valve is open, it is flooding. Something is wrong with the needle/seat/float or there is trash/rust getting in the needle/seat holding it open.

If it bogs down, blows black smoke while it's running, and you're sure the choke is fully open, it is flooding.

However, if it does not give black smoke, possibly backfires, has white, raw gas, eye burning exhaust, there could be an ignition problem. An updraft carb will drip some gas following a failed restart, especially if the choke was used.
 
Since you did not mention that it ran well before, I will take a shot in the dark.
Make sure that your fuel cap is venting, a plugged cap will starve the engine after a few minutes, see if your problem goes away with the cap off.
Check to see that you still have "fire " to the points after it quits. electrical resistance builds with heat.Possibly bad coil
If it quits, spray starter fluid into the air breather, to see if it will fire, that will be a good indication to let you know whether it is fuel or electrical
Fuel seeps from my carburetor all the time, so I would not necessarily assume that it is fuel related.
Good luck ,let us know
 
How clean is your gas tank? Had a similar problem with mine due to the relining coming off. Would run 5 or so minutes then quit, start up and do it again. Also had a that problem before the relining in that the rust in the tank would clog my inline filter.

Let us know how you make out.
 
I,ve had this tractor for many years and it has run problem free.About two years ago it
would start but would not rev up when I replaced the coil all was well.I also installed a
carb kit and all has been well till now. So today it will start and idle smoothly for about
5 minutes then dies and then I will see the fuel start to seep out of the carb.From your
replys i,m wondering if its electrical as I,ve been running the tractor for some time with
a 12 volt battery but with the generator disconnected and I would just put charger on the
battery before and after use.
 
If gas is dripping out the bottom of the carburetor after it dies. The carburetor could be running over and flooding.

When it dies, does it smoke?
 
The adventure continues I,m not a gear head but living out in the woods I just have to do this stuff myself.So I thought I would reassemble everything and start over. While reinstalling the oil bath air cleaner I noticed a pin hole in the cup that you put the oil in,think I will try to patch that with some JB Weld.Then I put the carb back on and hooked up the fuel line,turned on the fuel, big leak.Turns out the gasket between the exhaust manifold and the exhaust pipe has rusted away and has cracked the fuel line which I further damaged removing and reinstalling.So now I,m looking at the mounting studs for the exhaust pipe, which are really rusty looking and need replacing. Can I get them out with out breaking them?Probably not and I need a gasket.
 
When I had to take my exhaust off I looked at the rusted screws and thought it was going to give me grief. Luckily, they came out with little effort and replaced them with bolts with thin nuts instead.
 
The studs do snap at times which is to be expected really . It is not such a hard job to get them out but you can make it a little easier on yourself .
Try each one to see if it will move at all , if it is frozen and accessible cut the nut with whatever works . The studs are usually a right off in any case . This will at least leave you with the shank of some of the studs proud of the block once the manifold is off . Heat, patience and Vyse grips does the rest on a damaged stud . Two nuts locked together will help remove a stud with good threads . Broken ones flush to the block may need a nut welded onto the end through the nut hole, or drilling out . The studs and nuts come from just about any motor supplier . I personally use brass nuts to save from this trouble in the future but they do need to be re tightened once in awhile .
 

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